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SunTrust Banks Inc Stock Buy Recommendation Reiterated (STI)

Editor's Note: Any reference to TheStreet Ratings and its underlying recommendation does not reflect the opinion of TheStreet, Inc. or any of its contributors including Jim Cramer or Stephanie Link.

NEW YORK (
TheStreet)
-- SunTrust Banks (NYSE:
STI) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of B+. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, compelling growth in net income, attractive valuation levels, good cash flow from operations and expanding profit margins. Although no company is perfect, currently we do not see any significant weaknesses which are likely to detract from the generally positive outlook.

Powered by its strong earnings growth of 36.95% and other important driving factors, this stock has surged by 37.71% over the past year, outperforming the rise in the S&P 500 Index during the same period. Turning to the future, naturally, any stock can fall in a major bear market. However, in almost any other environment, the stock should continue to move higher despite the fact that it has already enjoyed nice gains in the past year.

The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has greatly exceeded that of the S&P 500, but is less than that of the Commercial Banks industry average. The net income increased by 40.8% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from $250.00 million to $352.00 million.

Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 508.82% to $621.00 million when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, SUNTRUST BANKS INC has also vastly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of 27.00%.

The gross profit margin for SUNTRUST BANKS INC is currently very high, coming in at 84.25%. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Despite the strong results of the gross profit margin, STI's net profit margin of 15.84% significantly trails the industry average.

SunTrust Banks, Inc. operates as the holding company for SunTrust Bank that provides various financial services in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Consumer Banking and Private Wealth Management, Wholesale Banking, and Mortgage Banking. SunTrust Banks has a market cap of $18.3 billion and is part of the financial sector and banking industry. Shares are up 21% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.